As a coach with a demanding reputation, Michigan State's Tom Izzo will often clash with players if their agendas don't match.

Recently, he and star point guard Kalin Lucas have not seen eye-to-eye, leading to meetings and discussion to get on the same page.

Fortunately for Izzo, he now has a stable of great former players who can advise him on how to best get his message across, including two Flintstones:

On Kalin Lucas, nothing new. He has 37 points in two games, Izzo and
Lucas both said Monday they're as tight as ever. Izzo did say several
former players, including Magic Johnson, Mateen Cleaves and Morris
Peterson, called last week to give their input and support after Izzo
held Lucas out of Tuesday's practice.

If anyone can understand the demands of playing point guard for Izzo, it's Cleaves. But there's a long history of players helping each other understand what Izzo's trying to do. Earlier this season, Draymond Green prepared Derrick Nix for what he knew would be a tongue-lashing from Izzo once they got to the lockerroom -- calling out his bigs early in the season, imploring them to be selfless and focused on rebounding and defense, is apparently a yearly tradition.

So is the tradition of an experienced big -- in this case Green -- preparing a younger player for it, something dating back to the Antonio Smith and Andre Hutson days. Getting yelled at by Izzo is simply a rite of passage at MSU, and Lucas is the latest to experience it.